The Minority in Parliament has accused the Chairman of the Appointments Committee in Parliament, Bernard Ahiafor of obstructing a diligent and thorough vetting of the ministerial nominees.
The Committee has ended its vetting of the three Ministers-designate nominated by President Mahama to occupy the role of the Finance Minister, Energy Minister and Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
Addressing the press on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, a member of the Minority caucus in Parliament and Tano North MP, Gideon Boako alleged that Mr. Ahiafor was “extremely partisan” and “protective of the ministerial nominees.”
“The chairman of the appointment committee was the first real obstacle to a diligent vetting of the ministerial nominees.
“He denied the Ghanaian people and the minority members of the committee the opportunity to conduct a thorough vetting of the nominees, he was protective of the nominees and extremely partisan,” he noted.
He further highlighted the challenges and some breached practices that the Minority believes were orchestrated to destruct the vetting of the nominees.
“Members of the committee were not provided with the CVs of the nominees ahead of the vetting. When they were eventually sent, the Chairman did not allow for the examination of those CVs as preliminary issues as has been the practice in the past.
“The deliberate refusal to provide the CVs of the nominees to committee members in advance and the refusal to invite questions on the CVs were all calculated attempts to obstruct constructive and effective scrutiny of the nominees,” Mr. Boako added.
The Minority also defended their protest against the Chairman’s conduct, describing it as a stand for parliamentary oversight.
“It must be noted that the altercation between our side of the committee and the Chairman was a direct protest against his conduct. Under the façade of a lack of capacity, he disregarded the fact that those he bullied were Members of Parliament and that the committee is a sub-body of the House,” Dr Boako emphasised.
